Machines for shaping uppers over lasts



L. E. PROULX MACHINES FOR SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS June 11, 19572,794,994

Filed Oct. 7, 1955 2 She ets-Sheet 1 '1 n u e n 0 r' Leonard E. Pro uixBy his Attorney June 11, 1957 L. E. PROULX MACHINES F'OR SHAPING UPPERSovss LASTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. '7, 1955 In 06 nlof Leonard E.ProuZI By his Azzor'ney McFeely.

United States Patent 2,794,994 MACHlNES FOR snarnsr; .UPPERS OVER LASTSLeonard E. Proulx, Arlington, Mass., assignor to United Shoe MachineryCorporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationOctober '7, 1955, Serial No. 539,068 SClaims. cits-10.2

This invention relates to machines for shaping uppers over lasts, and isherein illustrated as embodied in a pulling over machine of the typedisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,029,387, granted June11, 1912, on an application filed in'the name of Ronald F. It will beunderstood, however, that in its broader aspects the invention is notlimited to use in a 'pulling over machine or to the exact mechanicalconstruction shown.

In the operation of a pulling over machine of the mentioned type, it isthe accepted practice for the operator to position the toe end of thelast of the shoe in lengthwise and widthwise directions relatively to ashoe support by bringing the toe end of the last into engagement with alocating surface provided on the toe gripper of the machine. Then, afterthe operator has inserted the upper materials into the open jaws of thetoe and side grippers of the machine, he swings the heel end of the shoetoward one side or the other until the longitudinal novel means forfacilitating the positioning of the shoe in the machine by the operator.With this object in View, the herein illustrated machine, which, incommon with pulling over machines of the well-known type mentionedabove, has a shoe support and a toe gripper lo- 'cated adjacent to thesupport, is provided with a pair of abutments spaced apart widthwise ofthe machine and disposed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinalcenter line of the shoe support, these abutments each serving as amember for engaging the heel end of a shoe placed on the support withthe toe end of its last in engagement with the toe gripper to locate theshoe so that the longitudinal median line of the forepart of the lastwill be substantially parallel to the longitudinal center line of theshoe support. Preferably, and as herein illustrated, each of theseabutments has a curved operating surface for engaging the heel end ofthe shoe in a location adjacent to the bottom of the shoe and, in orderto accommodate shoes on lasts of different styles, means are providedfor adjusting these abutment members toward and away from each other.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will appear inthe following detailed description of the embodiment thereof which isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of a pulling over machineprovided with improved shoe locating mechanism embodying the features ofthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, at a reduced scale, of the shoe ice locatingmechanism as seen looking in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 5;

Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the shoe locating mechanism as seenlooking in the direction of the arrow B and with parts shown in sectionsubstantially on line IIIIII, Fig. 5;

Fig. 4 is a view at an enlarged scale of a part of the shoe locatingmechanism with certain portions shown in section substantially on lineIV.IV of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the pulling overmachine which is illustrated in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a view in section substantially on line VI-VI of Fig. 2 andlooking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to these drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, the pullingover machine which is illustrated therein is of a well-knownconstruction and similar to that shown in United States Letters PatentNo. 1,029,387 mentioned above. Thus, this pulling over machine has ashoe support comprising fingers 10, 12, 12, a heel rest indicatedgenerally by the reference character 14, a pair of side grippers 20, 20,a toe gripper 22, side tackers 24, 24, a toe tacker 26, and a pair ofside arms 28, 28 each carrying two shoe engaging pads 30, 30. Theelements which have just been enumerated are associated with a headcasting 32 which is mounted on a column 34 of suitable height, and theseveral operating elements are actuated by drive mechanism, not shown,but contained within the head casting, generally in the same manner asin the prior patented machine.

The heel rest 14 of the herein illustrated machine includes a metallicbacking plate 40 having two integrally formed arms 42, 42 by means ofwhich the heel rest is connected to a carriage 44. This carriage has twoside portions 46, 46 (corresponding to the ribs 36, 38 of the patentedconstruction, see Fig. 10 thereof) by means of which the heel rest maybe adjustably connected to two slides 48, 48 (corresponding to theslides 32, 34 of the patented machine). Secured to the backing plate. 40is a facing piece 49 of rubber, or similar yieldable material, forengaging the heel end of a shoe presented to the machine. 'It will beunderstood by reference to the aforementioned patent that, during aninitial portion of the operating cycle of the pulling over machine, theslides 48, 48, which are mounted in suitable guideways formed in thehead casting, are moved yieldingly upwardly, as viewed in Fig. 1, tobring the heel rest into engagement with the heel end of a shoepresented to the machine, and thereafter, at a later point in theoperating cycle and just before the toe and side tackers are operated,these slides are locked to hold the heel rest firmly against the shoe tosupport the shoe against movement in a heelward direction. As shown inFig. 2 of the drawings, the heel rest is of arcuate shape so as toengage the heel ends of different shoes presented to the machine, theradius of curvature of this arcuate shape being such that the heel restwill have no tendency to shift the heel end of the shoe laterally of themachine as it comes into engagement therewith.

In operating a pulling over machine of the type disclosed in thementioned patent, the operator first turns back the upper materials ofthe shoe adjacent to the toe end of the last and brings the toe end ofthe last into engagement with the inner face 50 of the inside toegripper jaw which, preferably, and as illustrated in Fig. 2 of thedrawings, is arcuate in shape. Then, after inserting the upper into theopen jaws of the toe and side grippers, he swings the heel end of theshoe toward one side or the other until the longitudinal median line ofits forep-art is substantially parallel to the center line of the shoesupport, indicated in the drawings by means of a broken line x.x, Fig.2, this lining up of the forepart of the shoe being effected visuallyand with an accuracy which will vary Widely with different operators. Inorder to facilitate this operation and at the same time to eliminate theuncertainties of operator skill, the following arrangement is provided.

Secured to a portion of the head casting 32, by means of screws 6Q, 60,is a bracket member 62 having downwardly turned ends 64, 64, Figs. 2, 3and 5. Projecting outwardly fromeach of these downwardly turned ends isa boss 66 carrying a shaft 68 on which an arm 70 is pivotal-1y mountedand held in place by means of a collar 72. Secured to each of thesearms, by means of a screw 74, is an arm extension 76 having at itsouter, end a pad 78 provided with a curved operating face 79, Fig. 6.Iournaled in each arm 70 is a trunnion shaft 80 having an integrallyformed trunnion block 82 on one of its ends and held in place by meansof a collar 84 on its opposite end, Fig. 3. Slidably mounted in anelongated slot86 formed in each trunnion "block, see Fig. 4, is theflattened end portion 87 of a nut 88. These two nuts are 4 respectivelyprovided with right and left-hand threads to receive the correspondinglythreaded end portions 90, 92 of a shaft 94 which is journaled in a boreformed in a block 96 carried by the bracket 62. Collars 98, 98, securedto the shaft by means of setscrews 100, 100, hold this shaft, againstaxial movement, while permitting it to be rotated by means of a handknob 102 pinned to one end thereof. interposed between each of thecollars 98,- .98 and one side of each trunnion block 82 is a coil springthe outline of the last of a mans shoe of medium size,

and for the right foot, placed in the machine with ,its toe end inengagement with the inner face 50 of the toe gripper 22 and with theinside face of its heel end, in the vicinity of the breastline, inengagement with the pad 78 which is on the left-hand side of the pullingover machine. Obviously, the pad 78 may be so adjusted that when thisshoe is thus presented to the machine, the center line of its forepartwill be parallel to the center line xx of the shoe support and the sameresults will be obtained with a shoe for the left foot placed in themachine with the inside face of its heel end in engagement with the pad78 which is located on the right-hand side of the machine. The pointsa-b indicate diagrammatically the approximate points of contact of thepad 78 with the heel end of a mans shoe of large and small size,respectively. On the larger sizes of shoes, the pads 78 will contact theshoe in the location forwardly of the breastline where the last curvesinwardly and downwardly toward the bottom of the shoe. Because of thecurved shape of the operating faces 79 of the pads 78, these pads willcontact the side of the heel end of the shoe in the vicinity of thebottom of the shoe, see Fig. 6. Thus, shoes of different sizes will becorrectly positioned when brought into engagement with one or the otherof thepads 78, '78,

,in the manner explained above, and errors, which otherwise might beintroduced if the pads engaged the shoe higher up on the side of thelast, are avoided. To adapt the locating mechanism for use with womensshoes, indicated by the reference character S1 in Fig. 2 of thedrawings, the arm extensions 76, 76 are replaced by somewhat longerextensions, one of which is shown in Fig. 2 and designated by thereference characters 76--'1, 78-4, while still longer extensions,762,.78-2, are provided for use with childrens shoes, indicated in Fig.2 by the reference character S2. The difierent positions assumed by theheel rest in cont-acting shoes of the different types mentioned aboveare indicated by reference characters The manner in which the novel shoelocating means is used should be clear from the above description. Itwill also be apparent that, since the operator does not have to line upthe forepart of the last visually, the accuracy with which the shoes arepositioned will be improved and at the same time the whole operationwill be speeded up. When changing over from one style of last toanother, the pads 78, 78 are readily adjusted by means of the knob 102.Should the pulling-over machine be operated through a cycle with no shoein the machine, the side arms 28, 28 may swing in far enough to strikethe pads 78, 78. If this occurs, the arms 76, 76 can swing inwardly, aspermitted by the springs 104, 104.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a support for a shoe onits last, means adjacent to said shoe support for engaging the toe endof the last of a shoe to position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwiseand widthwise directions on the support, and a pair of abutments spacedapart widthwise of the machine and disposed symmetrically with respectto the longitudinal center line of the shoe support, said abutments eachserving as a member for engaging the heel end of a shoe placed on thesupport with its toe end in engagement with said positioning means tolocate the shoe so that the longitudinal median 2. In a machine forshaping uppers over lasts, a support for a shoe on its last, meansadjacent to said shoe support for engaging the toe end of the last of ashoe to position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwise and widthwisedirections on the support, a pair of abutments spaced apart widthwise ofthe machine and disposed symmetrical- .ly with respect to thelongitudinal center line of the shoe support, said abutments eachserving as a member for engaging the heel end of a shoe placed on thesupport with its toe end in engagement with said positioning means .sothat the longitudinal median line of the forepart of the widthwisedirections on the support, and a pair of abutments spaced apartwidthwise of the machine and disposed symmetrically with respect to thelongitudinal center line of the shoe support, said abutments each havinga curved operating face for engaging the heel end of a .shoe placed onthe support with its toe end in engagement with said positioning meansto locate the shoe so that the longitudinal median line of the forepartof the last is substantially parallel to the longitudinal center line Vof the support.

4. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a support for a shoe onits last, means adjacent to said shoe support for engaging the toe endof the last of a shoe to position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwiseand widthwise directions on the support, a pair of abutments spacedapart widthwise of the machine and disposed symmetrically with respectto the longitudinal center line of :the shoe support, said abutmentseach having a curved operating face for engaging the heel end of a shoeplaced on the supportwith its toe end in engagement with saidpositioning means to locate the shoe so that the longitudinal medianline of the forepart of the last is substantially parallel to thelongitudinal center line of the support, and means for adjusting saidabutments toward or away from each other to accommodate shoes on lastsof different. styles.

5. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a support for a shoe onits last, a toe gripper adjacent to said shoe support and provided witha curved locating surface for engaging the toe end of the last of a shoeto position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwise and widthwisedirections on the support, and a pair of abutments spaced apartwidthwise of the machine and disposed symmetrically with respect to thelongitudinal center line of the shoe support, said abutments eachserving as a member for engaging the heel end of a shoe placed on thesupport with its toe end in engagement with said gripper to locate theshoe so that the longitudinal median line of the forepart of the last issubstantially parallel to the longitudinal center line of the support.

6. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a support for a shoe onits last, a toe gripper adjacent to said shoe support and provided witha curved locating surface for engaging the toe end of the last of a shoeto position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwise and widthwisedirections on the support, a pair of abutments spaced apart widthwise ofthe machine and disposed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinalcenter line of the shoe support, said abutments each serving as a memberfor engaging the heel end of a shoe placed on the support with its toeend in engagement with said gripper to locate the shoe so that thelongitudinal median line of the forepart of the last is substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal center line of the support, and means foradjusting said abutments toward or away from each other to accommodateshoes on lasts of diiferent styles.

port for a shoe on its last, a toe gripper adjacent to said shoe supportand provided with a curved locating surface for engaging the toe end ofthe last of a shoe to position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwise andwidthwise directions on the support, and a pair of abutments spacedapart widthwise of the machine and disposed symmetrically with respectto the longitudinal center line of the shoe support, said abutments eachhaving a curved operating face for engaging the heel end of a shoeplaced on the support with its toe end in engagement with said gripperto locate the shoe so that the longitudinal median line of the forepartof the last is substantially parallel to the longitudinal center line ofthe support.

8. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a support for a shoe onits last, a toe gripper adjacent to said shoe support and provided witha curved locating surface for engaging the toe end of the last of a shoeto position the toe end of the shoe in lengthwise and widthwisedirections on the support, a pair of abutments spaced apart widthwise ofthe machine and disposed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinalcenter line of the shoe support, said abutments each having :a curvedoperating face for engaging the heel end of a shoe placed on the supportwith its toe end in engagement with said gripper to locate the shoe sothat the longitudinal median line of the forepart of the last issubstantially parallel to the longitudinal center line of the support,and means for adjusting said abutments toward or away from each other toaccommodate shoes on lasts of different styles.

No references cited.

